Mother of murdered toddler backs campaign to see child killers handed whole life orders
Sarah Rose tells ITV News Central's Rosie Dowsing about the death of her son and her support for Arthur's Law
A mother whose toddler was murdered by her ex-partner in 2007 has told ITV News Central the news of Arthur Labinjo-Hughes' death has triggered her grief all over again.
Sarah Rose's son, Kamran, was 15-months-old when he was beaten to death while she was at work in Birmingham.
Police said Kamran's injuries were so bad, it was like he had been in a car crash.
Sarah's ex-partner, Nicholas Kirnon, was handed a minimum of 17 years in jail, which she says is nowhere near long enough.
Sarah said: "Life should mean life.
"If he gets out after 17 years he will be 39 years old, with his whole life ahead of him - even though he took the life of my child.
"There is no way I can walk this earth, knowing that he is out on the streets too."
For years after Kamran's death, Sarah started petitions and protests in her fight for a change to a law so that killers serve longer sentences in jail.
But now 14 years later she says the media attention on Arthur's Law could mark a significant movement.
She said: "I'm sad another child has died, I'm sad it's taken this long.
"But I'm glad people are finally seeing that something needs to be done."
"There is no way I can walk this earth, knowing that he is out on the streets too," Sarah says
What is Arthur's Law?
Arthur's Law would see anyone who carries out the murder of a child be locked away in prison indefinitely.
It is a campaign following the death of six-year-old Arthur Labinjo-Hughes.
In response, the prime minister has said the government is working on toughening the law so that child killers get whole-life orders.
Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the office of the Attorney General has confirmed the sentences for Arthur’s father and stepmother will be reviewed to decide if they are too low.
Arthur Labinjo-Hughes suffered an "unsurvivable brain injury" on June 16, 2020.
His father and stepmother were jailed for a combined total of 50 years for killing the six-year-old after they subjected the schoolboy to months of physical abuse.
Thomas Hughes will serve at least 21 years and Emma Tustin has been jailed for life with a minimum term of 29 years.
Tustin carried out the murder while in the sole care of Arthur at her home in Cranmore Road.
A post-mortem examination showed the young boy had suffered 125 separate injuries.
Later tests revealed Arthur had also been “poisoned with salt” in the hours before his collapse.
The government announced a review into the circumstances which led to Arthur's death.
It will determine what improvements are needed by the agencies that came into contact with him in the months before he was murdered - including the police, schools, social services and probation watchdogs.